Destined to be
by whispere
Summary: ON HOLD. NOW EDITED. When Cagalli, Athrun, Shinn, and Stellar met, they became the best of friends. But due to a series of events they were gradually seperated. When they meet again, will they recognize each other? AxC or SxC might be OOC. AU
1. Notes

Hi people! This is my first story (not counting that Fllay thing) so please, no flames! Advice is appreciated very much! I'm sure all of you authors know how hard it can be starting a new story, especially your first one. Reviews are REALLY appreciated! It would help SOOOOOO much and you'll be given credit! Feel free to point out errors and give me ways to make the chapter better. The story will be either ShinnxCagalli or AthrunxCagalli. You can vote, too, if you want. I might consider. Anyways, here are some things I'd like to point out:

In this chapter, Cagalli is 8 and Shinn is 10. Athrun and Stellar will also be 10.

Cagalli hasn't met Kira or Lacus. They might show up in the story later. MIGHT being the key word. Auel is likely to show up, maybe once or twice, maybe more than that. Lunamaria and Meyrin might not show up at all.

Cagalli doesn't know that she's been adopted. She is going to live with Kisaka for a few years before he tells her she's a princess. She hasn't met Lord Uzumi yet.

Kira doesn't know he's adopted, either.

Cagalli currently thinks her name is Cagalli Yula.

Shinn can't pronounce 'Cagalli' right so he says 'Calli'. Personally, I think it's sweet. Cagalli calls him 'Shinny'.

Um, that's all, I think. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 1

**POSTED: **10-04-05

**EDITED: **07-03-06

Disclaimer: I once owned a cookie… but then my dog ate it… so now I don't own anything. ;)

Destined To Be

-By HiddenNightmares-

Little Cagalli Yula giggled as she ran through the park as fast as her little legs could carry her.

"Calli, I'm gonna get you!" A cute little boy with black hair and a pair of striking ruby-coloured eyes yelled, running after the little girl, who could do little but try to push her little legs to move faster. Around the two young children, adults and young girls alike smiled as they saw the touching scene.

As they watched, the perfect picture was disrupted as the young girl suddenly ran into an alleyway. The boy had obviously given the girl a head start as he was far behind the girl. So he didn't see his little friend run into the alley, and, therefore, he ran right past it, not knowing that Cagalli thought that he was still right behind her. The small amount of people that had still been watching frowned slightly but shrugged anyways; the kids weren't theirs, after all. Their own parents should be taking care of them. They were probably watching, anyways. With that last thought, the people returned to what they had been doing.

But a pair of beautiful green eyes still watched, along with two lavender orbs. The eyes met, and they reached a silent agreement. They both knew something would happen. But they would be there to stop it.

If they were still alive then.

…

…

…

Cagalli kept running, slightly out of breath, not exactly looking where she was going. For an 8 year old, she was a REALLY fast runner. Her short blond hair which was done up in pigtails at the moment whipped around her face, and her amber eyes flashed with laughter. She was wearing a dark grey t-shirt that said in bold letters: 'Stay away if you don't want your lights whipped out'.

As she ran, she thought. She was pretty smart for an 8 year old, too. She loved thinking. But school wasn't that great. It was the most boring thing on the planet for her, and she disliked every little bit of it. So she spent her schooldays day dreaming about what she and Shinn could play after school, what she should show him, what she should talk about… and then the teacher would tell her to pay attention. Typical teachers.

She always thought she would stay the same forever. That Shinn would always be her best friend, and that her life would never change. She thought it was perfect the way it was. Sure, she wasn't rich and couldn't get all the Barbie dolls she wanted (though she would never admit that she liked dolls, especially Barbies. Shinn would have a field day.) But it was probably as good as it could get. Shinn, however, lived in an orphanage ever since his family had died in a car crash. Cagalli comforted him through his grief, at the time in which he thought he was all alone. But he realized that he was welcome at Cagalli's home and that Cagalli wouldn't think he was a freak since he was the only survivor in a car crash that was so big, unlike most children.

Cagalli always understood. That was one of the reasons they were best friends. Shinn meant a lot to her, and she to him. They had known each other since Cagalli was one and Shinn was three. They met at the same park they had been playing in now. Cagalli smiled at the memory. She and Shinn had both decided to go to the swings at the same time, and, coincidentally, there was only one left. So they had both argued, Cagalli using her small vocabulary and Shinn saying anything he could get out of his mouth, while Kisaka and Shinn's father stood at the sides, watching helplessly. Then Cagalli had decided that she would teach the kid a lesson. She had whipped up all her little baby strength into a punch (she was pretty strong, too… wonder why?) and Shinn's nose had started bleeding, while Cagalli celebrated her victory by sitting on the swing smugly, watching Shinn cry like a girl. Kisaka had made her apologize though, and they had decided on a truce. Ever since then, they were inseparable.

She was roused from her thoughts when she saw that she had reached a dead end. She skidded to a halt, the never-ending smile on her face dimming slightly, but not leaving her face. She bent slightly, trying to catch her breath.

A few seconds later she grinned full force, still facing the wall. "Alright, Shinny. I know you're there. I give up." She pouted when she didn't hear her best friend reply. She finally turned around, getting impatient. "Shinny?" her eyes widened in fear and surprise when she saw that instead of Shinn, three incredibly mean-looking teenage boys were sneering down at her. One of them cracked his knuckles.

"Whoever "Shinny" is, he's not here to save you now, babe."

…

I'm on a roll! Soooooo, what do you think? Let me know! If I get more then, let's say, five reviews, I'll update. I'm saying five because I won't be surprised if I don't get any reviews at all. ; thank you for reading! Now press that tiny little button in the left corner! Yep, that's the one! Now go for it!


	3. Chapter 2

Oh…. My… GOD! I feel so proud! Thank you guys so much for reviewing! It means the world to me! You guys are the best! I'm still thinking about pairings… I might keep it a secret… if you have any ideas for this story, please tell me! Ok, well, here's chapter 2! Enjoy!

Disclaimers: I don't own a penny. Now hurry up and read. :P

Destined To Be

-By Hidden Nightmares-

Chapter 2

The three guys that were ganging up on Cagalli grinned sinisterly. Cagalli didn't know what to do. She was only 8, after all. Though she may be above an average 8 year old, she was no genius. She swallowed nervously. She didn't know what these guys might do to her, but she had seen plenty of those old 'movies' with Shinn to know what was likely to happen. And she knew that whatever might happen, it probably wouldn't be in her favor.

…

…

…

Shinn sighed. 20 minutes had already passed since he had lost Cagalli and she was nowhere to be found. He was getting really worried. Shinn called out for Cagalli for what seemed like the millionth time.

"Cagalli? Cagalli, where are you! THIS ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE!" Shinn was yelling now without meaning to; he flushed slightly when he saw people staring at him. After the looked away, Shinn groaned. _Great, now I'm sounding desperate. _Flopping down onto a nearby bench, he put his head into his hands, a sign of defeat. "Cagalli… please be okay… please… I… I still have to tell you… that I… that I—"

"Cagalli, huh?" a feminine voice in front of him mused. Shinn hadn't realized that he had been saying his thoughts out loud. He looked up to see a very pretty blond-haired girl who looked to be about Shinn's own age. Her blue eyes skimmed about him until they came to rest at Shinn's own eyes. He blinked; the girl's eyes were very intense and gave him the feeling that they were looking right into his soul. The thought gave him the creeps. Suddenly he realized that she was talking to him. Startled, he looked up and apologized.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't listening. What were you saying?" he smiled politely at the girl, though the smile was obviously pained. The girl shrugged dismissively.

"Nothing. How about an introduction?" she waited for a reply, but all she got was strained silence. After a few minutes, she smiled understandingly. "It's alright. She'll be fine," she said quietly. Shinn looked at her, startled. Then he looked down, eyes downcast.

"How…. how do you know?" he was just as quiet. The girl sat down beside him.

"My friend and I saw her go into an alley when you two were playing tag. He's gone to get her." They were both quiet for a few moments.

For some reason, Shinn _knew_ he could trust her. He didn't know how, but he knew. Shinn smiled at her again, but this time, it was real. Real and sincere. "Well then, how about those intros you mentioned?" he grinned at her.

The girl laughed. It sounded like the tinkling of bells. "I'm Stellar Louisser." she stuck out her hand for him to shake and he took it. "I'm 10 years old and I just moved here recently. I live with my mom. I love reading manga and eating candy. My best friend's name is Athrun Zala, he's the one that went to get your friend. He's really prissy and annoying at first, but he's a great guy once you get to know him. He lives with his dad and they're super rich and total geniuses. You?"

When Stellar had started complimenting 'Athrun' or whoever he was, Shinn had felt a twinge of something he often felt when he saw kids having fun with their parents and siblings. He recognized the feeling for what it was immediately; jealousy. But why would he be jealous? He just met her, after all… his musings were cut short when he saw that Stellar was staring at him curiously. Turning a little red, he realized that it must be his turn to introduce himself.

"I'm Shinn Asuka. I'm an orphan so I live in an orphanage, duh. Ca…. Ca…. Calli Yula, the girl your friend has gone to find, is my best friend. I still can't pronounce her name right…" he trailed off, looking embarrassed and frustrated, but came back on track a few seconds later. "And, now that I think about it, she's my ONLY friend. It's because I'm the only survivor in a really big accident," he explained at Stellar's clueless look. "Anyways, I'm 4 feet and 10 inches, I love pizza, ice cream, and all types of junk food, I'm great at sports, I'm a wiz in practically every subject, and… hmm… my favorite color's are red and black. That's all, I think." They sat in silence for a little while, thinking about and processing everything they had just heard.

"Well, that's about to change," Stellar spoke up. Shinn gave her a questioning look and she continued, "About Cagalli being your only friend, I mean. Now I'm your friend, too, remember? And I'm sure Athrun will be your friend! You guys probably won't get along, though… he's pretty mean to everyone he meets at first… even teachers…" she frowned slightly, staring into the distance.

All of a sudden, Stellar was pulled from her thoughts when she felt two arms around her. Shinn. Was. Hugging. Her. She turned as red as a beet. He was so soft… and he smelled so nice…

"Thanks, Stellar. You don't know how much those words mean to me." He spoke softly into her hair. It smelled like lilies, and, for some strange reason, the _smell_ was sending weird signals that he'd never felt before to his brain.

When he finally pulled away, he noticed the color of Stellar's face but pretended not to notice. After a few seconds of stifling silence, Stellar cleared her throat awkwardly. "Err… so….. um… what was with all those details in that intro of yours? I mean, mine's wasn't that long, but yours… well, yours pretty much took forever."

Shinn laughed at Stellar's bluntness and began to relax as he answered. "Oh, that? At school, I've got this huge group of fan girls. They're really embarrassing." Shinn frowned while Stellar stared at him disbelievingly, but he didn't seem to notice. He was just frowning at the thought of those 'fan girls'. "All they ever do is follow me around all day even though some of them still think I'm a freak. They keep on going on and on about how they're my 'soulmates' and crap like that." He scoffed. "What a bunch of losers. I'm only 10, god. But they're too dumb to understand that. They're only after me because of the money father left me." He paused. "Life's pretty good since I'm a millionaire now, practically." He grinned. "it's 'cause dad had a really successful business in computers. Anyways, they treat me pretty well at the orphanage and I can spend all the money I want, and plus I've got Cagalli for a best friend. And you, too, of course. Everything would be perfect if mum and dad and sis would still be alive……" he sighed sadly, but made an effort to cheer up. "it's just those stupid fan girls… they _scare_ me…" Shinn shuddered slightly.

Stellar giggled. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Athrun has a bunch of fan girls for the exact same reason… and maybe for looks, too…it's hilarious to watch, though."

Shinn frowned. "that's what Calli always says. I think you guys will get along just fine." There was a comfortable silence between them once again before Shinn spoke up again, sounding a bit worried. "Don't you think your friend should have been back by now with Calli?" asked Shinn. He was glad he had found a new friend, but he had forgotten all about finding Cagalli.

Stellar frowned as she came to the same realization, but smirked at a thought she just had. "Yeah, you're right. How about we go for a little walk and find those two idiots? I'm sure we'll be able to find them, us being the smart people we are. They probably turned the wrong way on their way back." She laughed.

Shinn snickered, his previous worry temporarily forgotten. "What are we waiting for, then? Let's get moving."

Oh, yeah. He was really glad.

…

Athrun Zala looked down at the blond he was supposed to be 'rescuing'. He'd gotten a hunch that something like this would happen. Sometimes he hated his little hunches, even though they were usually right. Stellar had gone off to find and console the boy who had been playing with the girl. He glanced down again, only to realize that the girl had landed into an uncomfortable situation. A bunch of drunk-looking guys were cornering the helpless (and probably clueless) chick that was currently being backed up into the hard brick wall. The sick perverts looked like they were going to rape her. She looked younger then Athrun, and he was only 10! He came out of his thoughts and watched for a few seconds before he decided to step in.

Stellar would owe him for this one, he decided before jumping down from the two-storey building.

…

Cagalli was now on the verge of going mental. Kisaka always said she attracted bad luck. She should have listened to him while she had the chance. She shivered. Now she was probably never going to see him again. She groaned and shut her eyes tightly, trying to make her body appear as small as possible by scrunching it up into a ball.

'_Is this the end?' _Cagalli wondered faintly. '_Will it really end like this? I'm not gonna fight 'cause I know they'll get me in the end. Well, time for some last wishes… ok, let's see… I wish that Shinn'll find a new best friend... and that Kisaka will adopt another cute little girl who will be my reincarnation.. I think that's what you call those things, anyway… oh, and—'_

A shadow fell across her body and she felt worse by the second. '_Goodbye, World! I'll miss you!' _She thought meekly. She braced herself for… for something she'd rather not think about.

Suddenly, she felt as if she was floating in the air. '_Is this… is this how it feels like to be dead'? _She thought, dazed. '_It's sort of nice… I must be in heaven… so does this mean that the guys killed me right away without doing '**that**'? Then I guess it's okay to look…'_

Cagalli summoned up enough courage to open one of her tightly sealed eyes. What she saw before her astounded her.

Instead of being in Heaven like she'd thought she'd be, she was floating through the air being held up by the most astonishing and (seemingly) glorious person she had ever seen.

His green eyes sparkled and gleamed like polished emeralds while his short, soft-looking, almost feminine tresses flew gently around his face in all their dark-blue glory. His porcelain skin was perfect and he was smiling (smirking?) gently. That smile was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. He looked so angelic that, for a second she actually thought that she WAS in Heaven. She didn't realize that her mouth was hanging open until a fly almost flew in, literally. It was then that she saw that they weren't flying, but gently jumping from building to building. She was a bit dazed so she didn't really understand that it shouldn't be humanely possible to jump from building to buildings. After that realization, she just kept on staring.

… And staring.

…… And staring.

After a few moments, a slightly annoyed voice broke her thoughts.

"Well? Are you just going to keep on _staring_?"

…

MWA HAHAHAHA! A CLIFFIE!

So, does it make sense? Any errors you found that I might have overlooked? Are the SEED destiny characters totally OOC? I don't know coz I haven't seen SEED destiny yet. Just gundam SEED. Does anything confuse you? If it does, let me know! This was my first try at fluffiness! How was it? if any one of you guys like the 'cuteness' of this story and Inuyasha too, you might like **Destiny by Kittymui**. It's REALLY good but super long. But it's really sweet, too.


	4. Chapter 3

Hi gals (and guys)! Your reviews were awesome! I'm sorry to say that I won't be updating often and when I will, it'll probably be just as long as these first few chapters. I've got the patience of a T-rex (for lack of a better word), which is, like, ZILCH. Writing just isn't my thing. But I'll keep on writing as long as you guys keep on reviewing. You won't be disappointed (I hope)!

ONWARD!

**Disclaimer:** Yup, that's right. I don't own Gundam SEED/Destiny. I do in fact own this story, and most of the experiences they will have. If you dare claim this as your own, I hope someone beats the crap out of you until you're a bloody pulp, and you get what you deserve.

Destined to Be

-By HiddenNightmares-

Chapter 3

Cagalli blinked. Was her staring that _obvious_? The boy wasn't looking at Cagalli.

"Who are you? Why'd you save me? Do I know you? Are we _flying_?" Cagalli blurted out, somehow forgetting they were jumping from building to building. She waited but didn't receive an answer. "Well?"

The guy still didn't answer. Cagalli glared at him for a few brief seconds before angrily jutting her chin out with a small, but loud, "hmph! Boys…."

When the two finally landed, Cagalli realized how absurd it would sound when she told Shinn that she had been rescued by a boy who could practically _fly_. She didn't even know his _name, _for heaven's sake. Shinn would probably think she was on 'Crack' or whatever that stuff was called.

She snorted mentally at the thought. But she'd figure that out later. When she finally came back to reality, she saw that her rescuer had started walking and was leaving her in the middle of nowhere, as far as she was concerned.

Cagalli ran to catch up with the weird boy. As she did so, she looked at her surroundings. 'The Middle of Nowhere' turned out to be an old deserted neighborhood in which the buildings were falling apart. But apart from that, Cagalli didn't know where they were.

"Where are we?" wondered Cagalli out loud. The stranger surprised her by answering. In fact, he surprised her so much that she tripped over in surprise and fell flat on her face. Far from being embarrassed, she got angry.

He didn't see her fall, so he answered, "We're directly east of the park you ran out of."

"GET OVER HERE!" Cagalli bellowed, getting angrier by the second. "You—you—you MADE me fall!" she seethed, still on the ground. The stranger had stopped and was watching her with coolly.

Without waiting for a response from him, she got up quickly…. only to fall over once again when she felt a sharp pain in her ankle. She realized it was sprained.

"Ouchies, ouchies, OUCHIES! This is all your fault!" Cagalli accused.

"Yeah, right. It's not my fault you've got zero stability. I bet you don't even know what stability means. And if I wanted to, I could leave you right here." The boy sneered. "Alone," he couldn't resist adding.

As much as Cagalli wanted to yell and scream at him, she could see the truth in his words. So she waited for him to say something. After about 30 seconds of silence, he spoke up. "Get on my back." right after finishing this sentence, he crouched down and indicated for her to get on his back.

Having no choice, Cagalli sighed long-sufferingly and climbed on. "We're going back to the park, right?"

"Yes."

More silence after that. Soon it became stifling. Cagalli never did like silence. So she tried to think of something to say. A whole bunch of 8-year-old topics came to her mind and she just picked one randomly.

"You know, just in case you forgot, I asked you your name before. You still haven't told me. It won't kill you to tell me. And you need to loosen up a little, seriously. You sound like your 80." she stated in a matter-of-fact tone. When the boy didn't say anything, Cagalli felt herself getting mad all over again.

"Listen here, buster! You need to learn to live a little! God knows how many times I've had to say that to Shinny! And we can't forget Kisaka, either! Am I the only sane one around here! I wouldn't be surprised…. Anyways, if you're shy or something, you can tell me!" At this point she was trying to sound encouraging. "I won't beat you up or anything! Trust me!" Cagalli stopped talking to see the boy's reaction.

She had sort of forgotten that she was being carried by him, and, therefore, her 'little' temper tantrum had resulted in being screeched directly into the boy's ears. He swayed slightly for a minute in which Cagalli was scared that they would fall, but he regained his composure within a few more minutes. Clearing his throat slightly, he continued walking.

After a little while passed, the boy said, "Almost there." He sounded slightly woozy. And, if Cagalli didn't know any better, she would say he sounded relieved. She narrowed her eyes slightly at first, but then an evil grin appeared on her adorable little face and her eyes twinkled with mischief as she thought of ways to torture the boy until he told her his name… which, by the way things seemed to be going so far, would never happen. Her creepy grin widened.

'_I'm SOOOOOOO glad to be alive. So very, very glad.' _She let out an evil laugh, just to make things more dramatic.

Athrun's POV

That girl is SCARY. I hope that Stellar hasn't made friends with that boy… because then she'll be friends with this girl, too, as far as I can tell… and since I'm always with Stellar, that is NOT a good thing.

Not a good thing at all.

Normal POV

Athrun seemed to sigh in relief when they reached the park's open daylight, but Cagalli let it off as her imagination.

He had told her his name but that was it. (But only because she 'tortured' him.) She had told him her name too, just to be fair. Her torture usually made Shinn tell her everything (not that he wouldn't, after facing Cagalli's wrath), but Athrun didn't let her get to him… too much.

Looking around, she felt herself brighten instantly by simply staring at the peaceful atmosphere. Athrun set her down on a nearby bench but Cagalli didn't notice since she was deep in thought. After awhile Cagalli looked up. Hoping that Shinn would be where he always was when the two friends were looking for each other, Cagalli ordered Athrun to take her to the nearest swing set, which was, coincidentally, the same swing set where she and Shinn had first met. "So, let's go!" she said when he didn't say anything after she had finished ordering him. But Athrun, being the annoying git he is, decided to spoil her good mood by telling her the exact opposite of the answer she wanted.

"No."

"WHAT!" she exploded in disbelief.

"Didn't you hear me? I said 'no'." she REALLY wanted to wipe that smug look off his face.

"YES!"

"Nope."

"Yes, yes, YES!"

"Stop being pathetic."

"HUH! WHO'RE YOU CALLING—"

"CALLI-CHAN!"

As you can probably tell, someone had interrupted Cagalli. She was ready to give this someone a piece of her mind… until she figured out who the someone was.

"Shinny!" she screamed in joy, nearly deafening anyone within 50 feet of her, the closest being our beloved Athrun. She jumped up, completely forgetting about her sprained ankle.

"Ouchies!" she yelped, feeling the pain in her ankle spread. She started collapsing, but she felt someone grab her in their warm embrace.

"Thanks, Shinny," she sighed in relief, immediately assuming the person who had stopped her fall to be her best friend. She opened her tightly clenched eyes (which she hadn't realized she'd closed) and looked up to see not Shinn, but Athrun. Yay for her.

Blushing lightly, she pried herself out of his grip, only to find herself fall on the ground with a small 'thump' since there was no longer a weight to support her.

She looked up, slightly embarrassed, now expecting Athrun to be standing there, smirking at her. But it was Shinn who was now standing above her with a wide smile on his face. Cagalli saw that there was another girl standing behind Shinn, watching her curiously. Just by looking at her, Cagalli knew that they were going to get along quite nicely. Looking over at Athrun, who seemed to be deep in thought, she knew that their _friendship _was a whole different story. She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Shinn start speaking.

"Need a hand?" he asked good-naturedly. He held it out to her.

"You betcha." Cagalli responded happily. She grabbed his hand and hoisted herself up. Using Shinn's shoulder to support herself, she started speaking. "Soooo, who's your new _girlfriend_?" she asked, winking and nudging Shinn slightly with her elbow. At this, the girl began to look a bit uneasy and worried, but no one but Athrun noticed. Shinn knew she was kidding, though, and responded normally. **(A/N: Does that sound right? And also, why in the world would an 8 YEAR OLD have a girlfriend? The things I think of…. shakes head sadly) **

"This is Stellar, Calli-chan." he indicated between the two. "And Stellar, this is Calli." The two smiled at each other, Stellar relaxing since she now knew that Cagalli had been joking.

"And who's your new boyfriend?" Shinn teased in return. To everyone's surprise, Cagalli turned a furious red instead of responding calmly like he had.

"WHADDYA MEAN, BOYFRIEND!" She screeched.

"Calli, I was _kidding_." Shinn said after he recovered from his temporary deafness.

"Oh yeah," she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, sweatdropping. "Sorry. This is Athrun, by the way," she pulled the clueless blue haired young boy out of nowhere, pulling him by (what else) his silky tresses that were soon going to have split ends thanks to Cagalli. "And he's NOT my boyfriend. So there." she added firmly.

"Yeah, yeah, we know." Shinn waved her off. After Athrun wretched himself out of her death-grip and ran off to god-knows-where, Cagalli and Stellar decided to get to know each other. WITHOUT Shinn there. So Shinn trudged off pitifully and the girls were left to do some serious girl-bonding. But Stellar said that she needed to talk to Athrun first.

After she found him lounging under a nearby tree, she quickly pulled him aside so Cagalli and Shinn wouldn't be able to see or hear them.

"Do you think we should tell them?" Stellar asked.

"Tell them what?" Athrun asked coolly, pretending to be clueless.

"You know what I'm talking about, Athrun. So stop being an idiot and tell me already." she said, annoyed.

Athrun sighed, running his hand through his already windblown hair. "I don't think we should. Not just yet. We need to know them better. And we need to know we can trust them. You know we haven't told anyone about IT before so what makes these two so special? And it's against Le Crueset's rules, remember? We might get assassinated by our own kind…." **(A/N: Ohhh, major clue to plot right there…)**

After Stellar considered Athrun's words for a minute, she nodded in reluctant agreement. "Yeah, you're right. But if we can trust them, might as well tell them later on. And you know, I bet Cagalli thinks you can _fly_. We'll have some explaining to do when the time comes." Athrun also nodded, but then went off into his own little world, daydreaming.

After that little conversation, Stellar went back to Cagalli, and, after half an hour of chatting, they became fast friends. Cagalli smiled happily. This looked like the beginning if a beautiful friendship. Shinn, her, Stellar, and maybe even Athrun. Friends forever. **(A/N: Yes, I know that's corny, so leave me alone.)**

'_Or not.' _Cagalli thought, frowning when she saw that Shinn was purposely annoying Athrun just for the fun of it. _'Then again, maybe if I help Shinn out a little…' _she laughed happily as she ran over to where the two boys were, Stellar following. This was definitely the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

…

Yeah, yeah, I know you're probably pissed that this chapter is just as short as the other ones. But, pfft, we all have our off days. Sorry guys. Was that a good ending? Did it sound totally screwed up? Do you have any idea of what Stellar and Athrun's secret is? Mwa hahahaha…. I'm not telling just yet…


	5. Christmas Extraveganza! NOT! Chapter 4

Hello, awesome readers! Once again, I am sorry for updating so late. Well, I don't have much to say except: Read and Review, please! It's not really nice to keep on reading my story but not reviewing even once! (And I know some of you do that, so please stop!) Also, I'm not going to check when the main character's birthdays are, so I'll just make them up. And here they are:

Athrun: January 17th,

Stellar: March 2nd

Shinn: February 24th

Cagalli: April 7th

If you have any questions or anything, don't hesitate to ask! thought I would let you people know that in the next chapter or the one after that, I'll probably skip a few years of the group's lives' and then the REAL stuff will start! –cheers—

Well, READ ON!

Disclaimers: Oh, please…… --sighs-- yeah, make me feel bad about not owning Gundam SEED/Destiny! UGH! Go ahead, rub it in…… Meanies…

Destined To Be

-By HiddenNightmares-

Chapter 4

Cagalli Yula shivered in the wind, pulling her warm coat closer to her petite body. Her nose was bright red from the cold but she walked fast so she could stay warm and find Kisaka at the same time. School had just ended a few minutes ago and Shinn and Stellar had run off somewhere to play without her, leaving her all alone.

She frowned. Shinn had promised her that he would build a snowman with her in the afternoon, but he had obviously forgotten. Cagalli and Shinn had met Stellar and Athrun in mid-March. Now it was early December.

Cagalli, Shinn, and Stellar had become close friends, but unfortunately, Athrun remained the odd one. Cagalli had noticed that Athrun was spending less and less time with them, even Stellar, who was obviously the closest to Athrun out of all of them. Now Cagalli rarely even saw the blue-haired boy, and when she did, she wasn't happy with what she saw.

Athrun's pale, but healthy, skin, had become even paler, but instead of looking a healthy pale, it looked like a sort of sickly pale. His once luscious blue locks had lost their shine. His once dazzling emerald-green eyes, though usually filled with smugness and that 'I-am-WAY-better-then-you' look, had dimmed, losing their precious gleam that made him… him. Even his annoying fan-girls had sort of stopped buzzing around him like a bunch of bees attracted to honey. Not that was any great loss, of course.

But worst of all, he seemed to be losing his spirit. He was a completely different person now. It was as if the boy Cagalli had met was disappearing…. maybe for good. And just when they had started to develop a friendship, too. Oh, the irony.

Cagalli was starting to miss the person who always annoyed the hell out of her. Sure, she knew he was still there. Of course she knew. But it was just his physical appearance that was there. The rest of him wasn't. Cagalli had realized a while ago that Athrun wasn't sick, even though he always said he was whenever someone told him he didn't look that great. And when Cagalli finally admitted to him that she didn't believe him, he continued insisting that he was going to be fine the moment he gave her his excuse. If he was, he probably would've made some stupid jibe about Cagalli being concerned for him, just to see her blow up on him.

Cagalli planned to find out why he never talked anymore, (even though he was quiet to begin with,) and the reason for why he didn't come to school more than once a week.

As Kisaka came into her line of vision, and as she started running towards her guardian, Cagalli had a thought. It was an awful thought, and quite advanced for her mind. But the more she tried to forget about it, the more she thought about it. And the horrifying thought was this:

It was almost as if Athrun had lost the will to live.

Cagalli shivered, but not because of the cold.

…

(? P.O.V.)

Mom…. she's gone. People say that when someone dies they're _gone_, just like that. What do they know? Mom isn't gone, I know it. And even if she is, why didn't she tell me she'd be leaving? I……

I thought she loved me.

Y'know how they say that when you look at someone who's dead, they look like they're in some kind of peaceful slumber? PFFT. That is one of the stupidest and most _exaggerated _theories I have ever heard. When someone is dead, they're just… _dead_. Kaboom. It's over.

I don't believe it. I _can't_ believe it! _She's **not** gone_! Dad's lying, he must be. When mom comes back, then dad will become his old self again. He'll stop working so much and he'll stop….. Stop _it._ Mom would make him stop. She'd make him laugh and smile again just as normal fathers' do, and she'll warm the whole house with her kindness and love. And then…….

Then I'll have a family again.

…

Cagalli yelled happily when she saw that _her_ snowman (or snowgirl) was finished. Sure, it was a tad crooked…… and unstable-looking, too, but it was still her first snowman EVER! She was so proud of herself! It had the classic carrot nose, wool scarf, and the hat, and it was cute and all, but there was something missing, something important.

Cagalli frowned. What was it that was missing? She looked the snow_girl_ over, whom she'd christened Cagalli Junior, but she still couldn't figure it out.

Sighing, she drifted to her home, deciding to give up for now. At the moment she'd just think about other stuff, and, oh, the creamy, delicious substance she craved for that was called—

"HOT CHOCOLATE!" Cagalli screeched, running into the kitchen still in her 'snow-clothes'. "KISAKA, ARE YOU **_DONE_** YET!"

"Yes, Cagalli, I'm done. But—" he waggled a finger at her. "—get out of those wet clothes first."

"But I wanna go back outside after!" Cagalli whined.

"Cagalli-chan…" Kisaka warned in a low voice.

"Fine, then. After I finish my hot chocolate, don't EVER talk to me again."

"Understood, **_princess_**." :P

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

A few minutes later Cagalli sat on one of the chairs in the dining room, happily sipping her warm drink.

Therefore, thoughts could wait until later.

…

…

(? P.O.V.)

Cold….. It was so cold……

—Dream Sequence—

_Blood. There was blood everywhere. I knew who's blood it was, yet at the same time, the name of the person who had shed do much of the red substance was in the deepest corner of my mind. _

_I saw the body. It was, again, someone familiar, yet forgotten. Someone precious and talented, yet someone who no longer shone like the jewel they were. Someone who had a soul filled with hopes and dreams and wishes, yet someone who had lost just about everything._

_Then…… I saw the person beside the body. It was definitely a male, but the features were too far away to recognize. Even if I had been physically close to the person, it would have been too dark to see the features of this man._

_The stench of blood is suffocating, but I did not choke. I was used to it._

_All of a sudden, a light opened up out of the red clouds and it landed on the two people, one dead and one alive._

_The man, the one who was alive, was holding a silver dagger in his hand. The dagger was beautiful, but deadly at the same time. An intricate design wieved across the blade, and a detailed 'P' was carved into it. But the most eye-catching part of it was a beautiful emerald placed at the hilt. But there was one more thing…_

_Both the dagger and the man were covered in blood._

_A chill ran down my spine as the man's evil laugh filled the air. And at last, I knew who the two people were._

_The man was my father. A murderer?_

_And the blood… _

_It was **mine**. _

—End of Dream Sequence—

(Normal P.O.V.)

Athrun Zala woke up gasping, trying to separate dreams from reality. Sweat dotted his brow, but he didn't bother to wipe it away.

After he got himself under control, he shivered and pulled his comforter closer to himself.

He was cold. His skin seemed to be covered in frost, icy enough to bring pain biting into him like tiny needles. **(1)**

The dream… it had all seemed so real. But, Athrun reasoned with himself, it had only been a dream, right? His father wouldn't _really_ murder him, right?

Right?

At least, that's what he _wanted_ to think. But he knew, deep inside, that his mind was right. And what his father had said and done before proved to rouse his suspicions even further.

—Flashback from about a year earlier—

"Father? You requested my presence?" Athrun called questioningly, standing outside of the door to his father's study.

"Come in, Athrun." his father's voice, usually so deep and loving, cut into him like a knife. It sounded hard and cold. And, if Athrun was correct, it had a tiny bit of despair and anger in it, too. This was a little strange because Athrun thought he had not done anything to make his father mad, so why would he be calling Athrun himself? Still pondering this, he went inside and quietly closed the door behind him.

His dad had his back to Athrun. Mr. Zala was standing with his hands behind his back, facing the large window that covered half of the room's right wall. It wasn't that the room was small, just that the window was big.

Anyone who came into the house could immediately see that the Zala household was buried in money. Patrick Zala's study was impressive, but it showed less then 1 percent of their wealth.

Glancing around the familiar room, Athrun waited for his father to speak. After a few seconds of tense silence, the head of the Zala mansion spoke up at last.

"Athrun, I need to talk to you about something very important. Your mother, she…. she's—" surprisingly, his voice cracked. Athrun's concern-filled eyes widened when he saw a tear spill down Patrick's cheek. He'd never seen his headstrong father cry before.

Trying to pull himself together, Patrick spoke up again, clearing his throat and hastily wiping the unbidden tear away. "Your mother, she…

"She's gone."

It was at that moment, on his 9th Christmas Eve, Athrun Zala, kind-hearted and always seeming to be ready for anything, saw his world fall apart right in front of his very eyes.

—End Flashback—

Athrun buried his face in his hands, large tears spilling out of his eyes, remembering……..

—Another Flashback from the beginning of November—

A scream made its way out of Athrun's throat as he sat up quickly in his bed, breathing heavily. When he realized he had only been having a nightmare, his heartbeat started to go back to normal and his fear-filled eyes started to calm down.

After he felt somewhat better, he decided to go to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Padding out of his room, he sleepily made his way down the long flight of stairs, running his hand freely along the dark oak banister. When he reached the kitchen, he went straight to the cabinet holding the drinking glasses.

Just as he was reaching for a glass, he heard the front door open, then close, and a muttered curse as someone bumped into a wall.

Athrun froze. Was it a burglar? A _clumsy _burglar? Just as he was about to press the security button under the sink, he heard a cough. It was an awkward sort of cough, and slightly drunk sounding, but Athrun realized that the cough was familiar-sounding. But even though it was familiar-sounding, he couldn't place whose it was. So he decided to leave security out for the moment and find out who it was by himself instead. Not a very smart move, but he was only 10.

Looking around for a makeshift weapon, he quietly slid out a pan from… uh… 'somewhere'… and slowly crept out of the kitchen.

Athrun held the pan in front of himself protectively like a spear. Of course, he knew how to both defend himself and inflict pain without the pan. It was in his blood, and he was trained to do so. No worries, end of story. However, that is for another time. Right now, he had to concentrate on the task at hand.

With the grace of a cat, he silently stalked into the main hallway. Within another few seconds, he was in the same room as the stranger.

He started to feel his way to where the light switches were, but he came to a sudden halt and stiffened when he felt a large hand on his arm, stopping him in his tracks. The poor boy's heart almost stopped, but, as I said before, he was…… _trained._

Athrun pulled a dagger that he had had concealed under his shirt faster then you could blink. In two seconds flat, he had the advantage. Twisting around, he gave the man a painful blow to the abdomen, making him fall to his knees. Athrun slid the dagger smoothly to the man's throat.

"Who are you?" Athrun whispered harshly. Kill or be killed, that was the policy he was taught to believe. "What business do you have here?"

There was silence. You know something bad will happen when you hear that kind of silence. You just… you just _know_ it. Call it… instinct, if you will.

Athrun knew it, too.

The man spoke up at last. "Athrun… turn on the lights." His words were slurred, and Athrun could tell straight away that he was drunk. However, the person's voice was calm. And, of course, once again, it sounded familiar. And finally, Athrun recognized the person and the voice that belonged to it.

"**F-FATHER!**" Athrun managed to gasp out. He quickly let go of Patrick Zala and blindly made his way towards the light switches. With one quick flick of a finger, the whole house was illuminated.

Athrun's dad stood up and brushed non-existent dust off his…. HAWAIIAN T-SHIRT AND NEON GREEN SHORTS! WITH A BASEBALL CAP! Athrun blinked to see if what he was viewing was actually real. Nothing changed, so he pinched himself. Nothing. If Athrun hadn't known he was in trouble, he would've laughed. His dad still hadn't looked Athrun in the eye.

When he finally made eye contact with his son, Patrick's eyes were filled rage. Pure, unadulterated rage. Athrun let go of the pan he hadn't realized he was still holding in surprise and it fell to the ground with a dull crash. He stared at his father with wide eyes, not being able to accept the idea that his father was drunk. He had never seen him drink before.

His father had changed after Lenore's death. But Athrun hadn't thought that the change would be this… this _severe_ on his father. Athrun himself had changed very much through the few months that had passed. He was no longer the naïve and considerate young boy he used to be. Now, the new him concealed his emotions as if he was no longer human, but a machine.

Patrick Zala slowly started to move towards Athrun, who inevitably started to back away. The only ones who could ever see through Athrun's emotionless façade were his mom and dad. His mom had left the world a long time ago but his father could see that Athrun was confused. Confused and….. Scared.

Grinning like a madman, Patrick Zala took a gun from his pocket, pointed it at Athrun, and pulled the trigger.

—End Flashback—

…

MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Sadly, that's all I've got so far. What's sadder is that I haven't even gotten to the real Christmas-y stuff yet. Some Christmas special this turned out to be. Oh, well. I hope you guys liked this chapter. As you can tell, it sucked. But I like the part where I stopped. Leaves you guys in suspense, you know? You must have a lot of questions…… heh. )


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